summit from doha, carter. >> are you calling president obama's wishes and had the respond to society groups who structure to any kind of negotiated deal here in doha? >> i have no comment on the first part of that. >> democracy now! questions u.s. climate negotiator jonathan pershing about criticism of the failure to do more to cut emissions and save the planet from catastrophic climate change. we will speak with ronny jumeau and martin khor of the south centre in malaysia, and then anjali appadurai. >> you have been negotiating my whole life, you have failed to meet targets and a broken promises. >> a year after calling on world figures to do more to save the planet, the 22-year-old american college student was banned from the climate talks here in doha for the first week.

she joins us today h. then we look at how the koch brothers are influencing climate policy.politic this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the death toll from a massive typhoon in the southern philippines has doubled to more than 270 people. typhoon bopha is the most southerly typhoon ever recorded in the western pacific and the strongest to hit the philippines this year. 80,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. we will have more from doha after headlines. new clashes have erupted in egypt in the ongoing uproar over

a proposed referendum on a new constitution. on tuesday, thousands took to the streets to protest egyptian president mohamed mursi's effort to hold a referendum vote later this month after asserting wide- ranging powers, protecting him from judicial oversight. egyptian forces fired tear gas at protesters, some of whom broke through lines to approach the president. the rally coincided with a one- day strike from newspapers. the united nations is warning food shortages are growing in syria as a result of rising prices and mounting attacks on un vehicles delivering supplies. the u.n. world food program is currently feeding one, 5 million people in syria, the vast majority displaced from their homes. the news comes after the u. n announcing they are cutting back and removing staffers from

damascus. among the latest victims of violence in syria, nine students and a teacher were killed when their school was bombed in damascus. government forces have blamed rebels for the attack. nato has approved a request by turkey for the deployment of patriot missiles to its border with syria. turkey sought the missiles to defend itself from cross border violence. speaking in belgium, anders fogh rasmussen says the patriot missiles would serve as a deterrent to syria. >> i do believe that a deployment of patriot missiles will serve as an effective deterrent, and that way the escalate this situation along the syrian-turkish border. the mere fact that the patriot

missiles have been deployed make it necessary for any potential aggressor to think twice before they even consider attacking turkey. >> the palestinian authority is urging the united nations and other actors to hold israel accountable for its recent expansion in the west bank. israel has announced plans to build 3000 new settlement homes and expand the e1 settlement the which splits the west bank in two in response to last week's vote at the united nations. palestinian president mahmoud abbas says the security council should pressure israel to stop expanding settlements. >> we have communicated with both the un and un security council on this issue. we want to follow up on this. not just in the e1, but all

settlement activity. clearly, israel doesn't want to reach peace. >> while the settlement expansion have affected five other countries and their ambassadors, the obama administration has offered a tepid response, calling it counterproductive. >> i want to remind you, on building settlements in jerusalem are in accordance with israeli law. if anyone wants to investigate further, they can go to the bush letter and see on the changes in the territory which the u.s. president spoke of. >> the white house is denying iran's claim of having captured a u.s. drone in iranian airspace. iran says that they captured a scaneagle aircraft conducting surveillance.

speaking at the white house, press secretary jay carney rejected those claims. >> we have no evidence that the iranian claims you cite are true. i would refer you to the pentagon's comments this morning on the details of this particular type of uav, but again, we have no evidence that those claims are true. >> protests are continuing in mexico in the aftermath of clashes between police and citizens after it the inauguration of president and ricky pena nieto. activists have accused mexican police of using infiltrators to carry out vandalism and other acts of sabotage. in mexico city, hundreds of people marched through the streets to call for the release of jailed protesters and to denounce police infiltration. >> all this vandalism was caused

by infiltrators. has been hard because we have been protesting peacefully. we have been peaceful and as we reject the return of the pri. we are rejecting the return of pena nieto and we do not think it should be like this. many should be released. >> the u.s. senate has unanimously approved a $631 billion military spending bill. the measure includes the accelerations of a withdrawal from afghanistan as well as intensified sanctions on iran. the obama administration has threatened veto minutes over his authority to handle terrorism suspects. in a separate vote, senate republicans defeated a measure to ratify a landmark concatenations treaty banning discrimination against people with disabilities. the final vote was 61-38. five votes short of the two-

thirds majority needed for approval. republicans rejected the measure, saying it would make it easier to obtain abortions and place restrictions on home- schooled children. the rejection came despite the un treaty itself being modeled on a piece of u.s. law, the americans with disabilities act of 1990. 126 countries, including britain, germany, china, and russia, have already ratified the un convention is a person with disabilities. bernard obermeyer of the who noted that the treaty rejected by republicans covers 15% of the world's population. >> people with disabilities make a 15% of the world's population and have worse health and socio- economic outcomes than people without disabilities. across the world, people with disabilities have for help, lower educational achievement,

less economic participation, and higher rates of poverty and people without disabilities. this unacceptable situation must change. >> california has formalized its refusal to ensure the enforcement of federal effort begin immigration requests. on tuesday, attorney general kamala harris said state agencies are not required to -- comply with the program known as secure communities, where local authorities share fingerprints with immigration officials. the program led to the record deportation of around 400,000 people last year. striking care for workers at the port of los angeles and long beach have reached a tentative agreement after an eight-day walkout. workers went on strike last week against international corporations who they say are outsourcing good paying jobs. the strike cost southern california a reported $8 billion in lost economic activity and

marked the worst disruption of local cargo traffic in a decade. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. high level talks are continuing here at the united nations climate summit in doha, qatar. just before we went to air, a coalition could in solidarity with the philippines following yesterday's deadly typhoon that killed at least 270 people. for years, scientists have warned climate change would cause strong typhoons in the region. on tuesday, un secretary general ban ki moon warned that extreme weather is the new normal. >> danger signs are all around. one-third of the world's population lives in countries with moderate to high water stress. land degradation affects 1.5 billion people.

icecaps are showing unprecedented melting. permafrost is thawing, sea levels are rising. the abnormal is now the new normal. >> a new report out today by the world bank warns disasters related to global warming have cost arab nations $12 billion in the past 30 years and will increase greatly in coming decades. the world bank says some cities in the arab world could become unlivable by the end of the century. here at the climate talks in doha, developing nations are accusing the united states and other wealthy nations of not pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions enough and failing to pay poorer nations for loss and damage from weather events caused by climate change. the director of the third world network. >> it seems the developed countries are not doing what they should do. the commitments that they have

put on the table, cutting emissions of greenhouse gases under the kyoto protocol, is very low. it is very important that the data states is not part of the protocol, and worse, we have more concretely in the second commitment period. >> i had a chance to question the chief u.s. climate negotiator jonathan pershing. >> civil society groups are extremely frustrated here. president obama, in his first speech after elected, said that he didn't want our children to live in an america that is threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. yesterday, a number of civil society groups held a news conference and they said --

greenpeace said that tod stern and got the pershing have come to doha with a goal of obstructing the process. he said that it was disrespectful of president obama to inflict on us to the bureau negative negotiators to act as if the commerce that he made after the election were never made. obama should pick up the phone and tell his delegates to follow his lead or alternatively return to washington. jonathan, are you calling president obama's wishes, and how you respond to thcivil sociy groups who say that the u.s. is the leader of stricter to any kind of negotiatied deal? >> all have no comment on the first part. on the second piece, the united states' role is engaging

actively in the discussions. we are one of the significant triggers to the intellectual thinking in the process. we will continue to do that. it does not mean that we will agree with everyone. we are looking to participate in an outcome that will lead to reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. we are looking at outcome that will be acceptable to all parties. we are looking at an outcome that will be effective in the timeframe we set for ourselves to move forward. >> , to make a comment. the world the president obama the but what his children to live in is already here, and it will only get worse. the most trusted people on earth right now must be scientists. there is all this talk about we have to do the recording to the science. while the talks might begin moving at a snail's pace -- like a caravan stuck in a sandstorm. everyone seems to be breaking your neck to get far away from the sides as possible.

the world is already here. and whether the u.s. or any other country, including my own andhey are living in it -- i would hope maybe their kids would turn around and tell their parents, haven't you noticed? we are already there. >> that was ronny jumeau of the seychelles. before that, you heard jonathan pershing, the chief climate change negotiator. so far, the u.s. envoy tod stern has only held one news conference after one week and half. he was goodlett told another one today, but if you look at today's list of meetings, the event is the only one marked in

red. a press conference was cancelled. ronny jumeau is with us here in doha, representative of the alliance of small island states. and we are joined by martin khor, executive director of the south centre in malaysia. ambassador, you're on the panel with the jonathan pershing, the u.s. climate change negotiator. do you agree with greenpeace international, that they should be forced out of the conference, or follow what president obama has to say, if in fact, president obama is saying something different from what they are saying here? >> i want to be sure we are not shooting the message in spite of the message. my problem is the message from the u.s.. this morning when we started, the doha caravan seems to be

lost in a sandstorm, battling to find its way out. the u.s. it is not the only actor, although it has a big effect. all the big countries and they have limitations of what they can do, are in an economic crisis, but are we living in a world where only the u.s. and the eu are in economic crisis, and small countries are not in an economic crisis? we are all in a crisis. if they can cut emissions, and they do not, how is that affecting others in the philippines? >> the number of dead from the typhoon has increased to 270. what about the seychelles? as an island nation off the

coast of africa, how are you affected by climate change? >> our economy is mainly based on tourism. incidently, mainly from europe. there have been changes in the patterns of the fish, so our whole economy is now at risk. if it continues like this, the seychelles, the sea level rise will not be our biggest problem but we will become a failed state. >> you are in the indian ocean. place yourself geographically with other islands off the coast of africa that you are near. >> we are in the group of 115 islands east of kenya, north of madagascar. we cover a huge area of the

southwestern indian ocean. we're at the full mercy of what happens in the ocean. we are ocean people. anything that affects oceans, whether through increased temperatures, acidification, which is a bigger threat to khor reece that morning temperatures. >> what happened with acidification? why is that a result of climate change? >> we are reaching the limits of carbon dioxide and water can take out of the air. we have abused the oceans as we have abused the forests. >> people here have said they joked that they found something with a label made in the u.s.a., and that is co2. martin khor, you are not that far from the philippines. talk about the significance of typhoon bopha and what that means for malaysia and for these climate talks.

>> i think we are seeing these extreme weather events. in our country is the heavy rainfall. the scientists have said, climate change is contributing to that. as the oceans become warmer and there is more water in the atmosphere, we get much more rainfall. for three years running, pakistan, for example, have suffered massive floods. many parts of china have been suffering from flood. and then we have these storms coming in the united states, sandy, in the philippines, central america, and so on. the catastrophe of climate change is already on us. we are now waiting for the next century. we are the children we are talking about, who are suffering from climate change. unfortunately, the talks that we see in doha are not reflecting the urgency that is required by what is happening out in the world. >> why?

>> years ago there were countries who did not believe in the science of climate change. today, all countries believe in the science, but the fight is over who is responsible and who has to carry the burden of stopping emissions and halting climate change work happens. here we have in doha developed countries not living up to their promises, legal commitments. >> what are these commitments? >> there are a few times. one, they would take the lead in cutting emissions. because their emissions have been very high in the past and they have grown rich because they were able to emit and live off cheap oil and coal. secondly, they had committed to helping developing countries to take action, through the

transfer of funds, and the right kind of technology. but what we are seeing here in doha are many developed countries leaving the kyoto protocol, and joining the united states, who had left some time ago, and the remaining members in the kyoto protocol are putting forward emission reduction figures that are too low -- something like 20% for europe, which they have already achieved. so the system we started with in bali, five years ago, that developed countries would cut emissions by 5% to 20%, a similar effort under the convention. >> the u.s. did not sign onto the kyoto protocol? >> under bush, they agreed they

would do similar to would be to recall program -- joke part of all members would do -- tkyoto protocol but never signed on. now each country puts forward whenever it can do, and that will not be challenged. this is not based on science. as a result we have very low emissions coming from developed countries, which means they are showing a bad example to developing countries who would want to do more, but seeing that leaders are not living up to their expectations, this has repressed their ability to do more in terms of their own population. >> ambassador jumeau, before you

were the roving ambassador for the seychelles, you were a u.n. ambassador. the u.s. has a major drone bass in the seychelles, which means you have close ties to the military. does that affect your negotiations here? >> not at all. first and foremost, we are a small island country, a member of the alliance of small island states. we are also part of the african union, but we always take the same position as the islands, because the islands have to stay together. ironically, the u.s. drones in seychelles take off from an airport only 10 feet above sea level. that should give them an idea of the kind of threat we are facing. when a tsunami hit the seychelles, it covered part of the airport, so by being in the seychelles, they cannot say they do not understand our position because they're very drones take

off from the airport. we will also not allow our relationship with the u.s. to affect our tough stance here. we will continue to call for urgent and deep cuts in emissions, not just to save the seychelles. if the seychelles go under, so does new york, so does the nile delta. so does every low-lying part and city, like new orleans. we are fighting for all people in the same situation. >> what about hawaii? despite donald trump's contrary views, that is where obama was born. >> exactly. we speak to people in hawaii as islanders. they say, you are a sovereign government. when i look at you, i do not see

the u.s., i see an islander like me. >> i want to turn to pa ousman jarju. our producer spoke with him. he is from gambia, the chair of the bloc of nations. >> can you describe why this money is needed in how climate change has impacted africa? >> look at the impact we are facing, the floods and droughts on an annual basis. people are dying over the last two decades. over 900,000 people have died in ldc's. there is no need for us to show it, it is very evident. for the countries to really

demonstrate that commitment, they need to do more. they have been spending $4 billion on subsidies, but that is going to appease the oil companies. that money is needed in our country. >> that was pa ousman jarju from gambia, the chair of the least developed countries. greenpeace also said that doha is where deals come to die. what do you want to see out of this conference, do you expect anything? >> we expected a lot but now i am wondering whether that will happen. the first thing we need in doha is to be certain that the kyoto protocol will be met fully. in the first five years of the protocol, the first commitment period, countries agreed to cut

their emissions by an average of 5%. now the second period which begins in 2013, the science says we have to cut by 25% to 40% for developed countries. this is a big issue. up until now we do not know how much the developed countries that still remain in the protocol will do the cutting. >> where does china into the story? qatar has the largest greenhouse gas emissions per capita per worker -- per-capita in the world. where does china into the story? often you hear the u.s. saying it is all about china now, that they commit more greenhouse gas emissions. >> the big thing with china is its population. they have 1.5 billion people.

that is why their emissions are high. if you look at the average emission per chinese, it is not very high, maybe 5 tons of carbon dioxide, compared to the united states, which is about 20. china is still very much a developing country. their average per capita income is $5,000. they have just escaped from being a low middle-income country. so we are looking at a huge population and that is why the total emission are large. if you look at india, is even worse. the poverty in india is still very bad. to pick on countries like india and china and say, unless they act, the united states will not act, this is a very poor excuse. it is picking on an issue that is not relevant. of course, it is true, in the future, india, china, malaysia, we need to take massive actions

in order to prevent the large expansion of carbon dioxide, but it is only an excuse to demonize china. china is still a competitor to the united states. >> i want to play a clip of an environmentalist from all salvador. our team caught up with her today here in doha at the qtar convention center -- qatar convention center. they condemn the ongoing negotiations happening here at cop18. >> i am from el salvador. i am here because the people of this town are the ones suffering the most even though we have not created the problem. in these discussions, they want to solve the problem in the same

manner they created it. they are going very slow. some people have even dare to say that we have gained a lot. 18 months ago, people did not know about climate change but we do not need to know, we are living through it. this is 500 years of colonialism that is giving its fruits. if we didn't start looking at a different paradigm, we will continue pretended that we are looking for solutions. i know -- i see the people dying from hunger, all the problems being caused by these situations. >> that was a longtime activist from el salvador. that was clearly a global gathering. we're coming to the end of the two weeks. ambassador, why does this go on? as we speak to negotiators are

run of world they say, we do not really know what will happen. we saw in copenhagen a deal was brought out the last minute after most negotiators thought they were gauche trading -- negotiating something, and that was brought out by a small group of industrialized nations. >> unfortunately, copenhagen was reduced to brinksmanship. everyone was waiting to see who would be the first to blink. i do not know why we should spend two weeks. it takes a lot of hard work. fortunately, i heard you mention theldc's before, and alliance of small island nations, we are all in an alliance now. it is the way that we refused to give in, the way we refuse to be silent or culled which finally,

the subject to come out. nobody want to be blamed for the collapse of the talks, but there is a better way to do it if we can all agree from the beginning what needs to be done, instead of this one-upsmanship. as we go into 2020, we need a much stronger agreement and the kyoto protocol. this is why we are fighting to have a stronger continuation of the protocol so that it can be used as a template for the new agreement. the new agreement is when the china and india's of the world, and everyone else will be involved with usa and europe. >> i think the united states' favored word right now is voluntary. tell me if i'm being too cynical.

would it be a success if the doha talks collapsed, that it did not come out with anything, a success for the that states not wanting to regulate -- united states not wanting to regulate those campaigning and lobbying in the united states? >> it would not be a success for the people of the united states. we have seen from hurricane sandy, it is affecting the united states. look at the drop in texas. it is in the interest of the people of the u.s. to act and take leadership in the world so that the world can act. everyone is looking to the u.s. because it is the richest country per-capita. it is most responsible for climate change, historically, and even today, the most important polluter. if the u.s. does not act, that will depress other countries. as i said, president obama, in

his first term, he promised a lot. when the united states came back to the negotiations under obama's leadership, there was a standing ovation. the u.s. is back and they will take the lead. unfortunately, it prevented others from acting, and it is actually in danger of doing worse than what bush did. bush said, i do not believe in a climate change. if you want to do something, do it and leave me alone. but this present team says we are the leaders of the world. if we cannot do much, we do not want others to do much. i hope in his second term president obama will show more of leadership. we know he has problems with congress and public opinion, but that is what leadership is about. we look forward to a change in the positioning of the data states so that it can take its proper place among the leaders

who will fight climate change, show an example to the developing countries, and also provide money and technology transfers to developing countries. in doha, they are not showing any leadership on that. developed countries seem to be saying, we are not going to give you much money, so therefore you can forget about the technology transfer. that is a depressing message to developing countries. >> i want to thank you both for being with us. ambassador jumeau was the un ambassador to the united states. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, a young college student who was banned from the summit in the first

week -- but after a twitter storm, was allowed to re-enter. she gave a major address at the climate talks in durban.

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting live from doha in the gulf country of qatar, where the cop18 is taking place, you and from work on climate change. we turn now to anjali appadurai,

a 22-year-old college student from the college of the atlantic in maine. last year at the climate talks in durban, anjali made headlines when she addressed the assembly on behalf of youth delegates. she will join me in a minute. first, let's go back to the speech last year. >> i want to do the floor to ms. anjali appadurai with the college of the atlantic who will speak on behalf of youth non- governmental organizations. >> i speak for more than half of the world's population. we are the silent majority. you have given us a seat in the hall but our interests are not at the table. what does it take to take -- get a stake in the game? lobbyists, corporate influence, money? you have been negotiating all my life. in that time, you have failed to meet pledges, missed targets,

and broken promises, but you have heard this all before. we are in africa, home to communities on the front line of climate change. the world's poorest countries need funding for adaptation now. the horn of africa and those nearby needed it yesterday, but as 2012 dawns, our group green climate fund remains empty. the international energy agency tells us we have five years until the widow to avoid irreversible climate change closes. the science tells us we have five years maximum. you are seeing -- saying, give us 10. the most stark a trailer your generation's responsibility to ours is that you call this ambition. where is the courage in these rooms? now is not the time for incremental actions. in the long run, these will be seen as the defining moments of an era in which narrow self interests prevailed over science, reason, and compassion.

there is real ambition in this room, but it is being dismissed as a radical, deemed not politically possible. stand with africa. long-term thinking is not radical. what is radical is to completely alter the planet's climate to betray the future of my generation and to condemn millions to death by climate change. what is radical is to write off the fact that change is within our reach. 2011 was the year in which the sun and jordy found their voice, the year when the bottom shook the top. 2011 was the year when the radical became reality. common but differentiated and historical responsibility are not up for debate. respect the foundational principles of this convention. respect to the integral values of humanity. respect the future of your descendants. mandela said, it always seems

impossible until it is done. so, distinguished delegates and governments around the world, governments of the developed world, deep cuts now. get it done. [applause] >> thank you, miss appadurai, speaking on behalf of half of the world's population, i think she said at the beginning. and on a purely personal note, i wonder why we do not let half of the world's population speak first in this conference and not last? >> that was anjali appadurai, a college of the atlantic student from bar harbor, maine, addressing the durban climate summit. this year, she was banned from

the doha summit for the first week. she is allowed in now and is here to tell us what happened. anjali, thank you for being with us. what happened? after giving a dramatic address last year, how is that they began to from this year's summit until you find that this past week? >> those who lost their badges in durban had to go through a real accreditation process to go to the conference this year. basically, i did not pass the process. >> why did you lose your badge last year? >> i have to have a personal meeting with you and head of security. he was not convinced through my personality and reputation that i would not organize against. >> what is your role here, are you allowed to all protest within the summit? >> and the un has a specific set of guidelines for what actions you are allowed to take.

technically, we are allowed to protest, just in a very constructive space. >> i wanted to play a message from the head of the u.n. summit. this is a comment made by the executive secretary of the u.n. framework convention on climate change. during a news conference last week she said, "civil society is not doing enough to encourage governments to raise their level of ambition." she argued governments could only do what they were elected to do. just before the summit, she also addressed a conference of youth. >> he need to provide the speed and scale and direction. so, thanks very much, do not give up, do not become innovation -- rather, the impatient -- but still keep going. do not let your it in patients move you into inaction or cynicism. >> do not let your impatience

move you into inaction or cynicism, says the head of this u.n. climate summit. yet, when you acted, you were barred. you had a personal meeting with christiana. >> yes, the main problems of society had here was the relationship between them and the political process is less, we are valued in the space, and more, we are incredibly privilege to be here and there will be punitive measures if we do anything out of line. >> what are you doing here this week, what ultimately caused you to be able to come in? social media? >> we unleased a twitter storm and personal notes were sent in through e-mail and twitter. i do not know how much of an effect that had on her decision, but it was quite the morale booster for civil society to see that kind of consolidated effort. >> you are here for the week, what are you doing?

>> working with a couple of organizations, the third world network, and my group, an international group of students at the college of the atlantic, which i know you know. we are here to track policy and keep others at home updated through our blog. we are focusing on the issues. >> what about for the first time seeing this arab youth movement, at the beginning of the second week, hundreds marching to the streets of qatar, which was a first. >> that made history. we have been impressed by the arab youth climate movement. it is a very cohesive movement. they are doing incredible things. they are very well organized and they are very much focused on their government, putting pressure on their local government. >> what is your message to negotiators this year?

you said last year, you have been negotiating all my life. has it changed? >> no, if anything, it is more urgent this year. if we have a week deal and negotiators agree to that week deal, that will lock in a decade of inaction, and all of society will condemn them. any minister or politician who agree to the deal. >> you are an american student, your family is from southern india. what is your message to president obama? >> i would urge him to change his stance on climate change, to follow through on what a lot of people without would be the coming out party for the u.s. and climate policy, doha. i would urge him and thought stern to work together to ease the u.s.'s position on this deadlock which they are almost single-handedly creating. >> what are they doing? >> there is very clear

opposition. developing countries say that we need support from you to reduce our emissions. we need finance, support in terms of capacity building, technology, and developed countries say there is no need for us to have any negotiating text on this. we're going to move forward on a slower pace. anything we do will only take effect after 2020, when it is far too late. literally, in a meeting yesterday, they were presented with a blank text. the heading was action on advanced action, and it was a blank piece of paper. that is the kind of action we are getting from developed countries. developing countries say, yes, we need action. >> you see the negotiations going on in the united states. they have nothing to do with climate change, even though we are just dealing with hurricane sandy. we're dealing with the fiscal cliff. we do not have enough money for

our own country. >> we need to understand that the fiscal cliff and the climate is not associated. the climate is not waiting for us. developed countries need to make some serious shifting of priorities and they need to allocate what is needed to solve the climate issue. >> anjali appadurai, to a student at the college of the atlantic. she addressed the durban u.n. climate summit. this year, has been allowed back in for the last week, to participate. when we come back, we have an analyst talking about the kocht opus.

>> singfortheclimate.com. today at the doha summit, we went to a news conference were major climate negotiator from belgium and the european union sang the song as well. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. we are broadcasting from the 18th u.n. climate change summit. i'm amy goodman. the billionaire brothers charles and david koch are known for

funneling vast amounts of money into republican campaigns. the u.s. is accused of blocking progress here at doha and a new report says that the koch brothers might be the biggest force behind the stalemate. they run oil refineries and control thousands of miles of pipeline, giving them a massive personal stake in the fossil fuel industry. researchers say they have also funneled tens of millions of dollars into climate-denial science, trying to derail policy that could lessen the impact of global warming. the report is called "faces behind a global crisis: us carbon billionaires and the un climate deadlock ." to talk more about this, we are joined by one of its authors, victor menotti. victor, welcome. for people watching on television, you may have noticed a spider or my left shoulder. that is a piece of art here at the convention center, a massive 9 meter sculpture.

there are marble eggs inside the spider's sac. she made it for her mother, who was a weaver. you have an image of what you call the kochtopus, not a positive image, but not so different from the work of public art. >> it is the perfect backdrop to explain what is happening. it is a follow the money story. it goes from doha, to washington, to wichita, which is where the koch's are based. many may think that this is a conspiracy theory, but you look at where the money is coming from, these two brothers are the world's wealthiest individuals. their combined net worth now exceeds that of the world's wealthiest man, carlos slim.

they have spent more than anybody, any company, even more than exelon, in campaign contributions -- >> the richest are? >> no. 1, carlos slim. no. 2, bill gates. number three, ignacio ortega. then warren buffett. if he took the " brothers together, we consider them -- koch brothers together, we consider them a single entity. they are worth approximately $80.2 billion. they have spent more than anybody on campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, climate denial science. we are not saying they are the only force. they are part of the fossil fuel complex. but they are the financial force and ideological leaders of the counter movement. >> i wanted to ask you about an

action that took place this week. i wanted to play a comment of one of the people who were arrested this week protesting in texas as delegates and activists gathered here in doha. two activists in texas locked themselves inside of a section of the keystone pipeline. the pipeline would carry crude oil from canada to the gulf coast, a project opponents would say would unleash lethal levels of carbon dioxide. president obama now faces decisions of the approval. this section of the pipe where activists locked themselves would run less than 100 feet from homes in texas. this is matt almonte, speaking in the dark, inside the pipe.

>> this is the first night being inside the pipe. basically, we have set up shop here. it is very important for people to feel empowered against resource extraction. keystone pipeline does not release serve to benefit anybody but the corporations who will reap all the profits, at the expense of the communities that will be poisoned, through their and it is notir, right, and i wanted to play myself in the middle of that fight. >> that was matt almonte, speaking from inside of a keystone pipeline. he and two others were arrested later.

what is the keystone xl pipeline? thousands have protested and many have been arrested for in front of the white house. what does it have to do with the koch brothers? >> 25% of tar sands imports they already process. they have vast holdings in the can of the territories. they have some of the pipeline and birds, existing refineries in corpus christi. we call it the koch keystone pipeline. we understand the world needs the u.s. to mobilize around these brothers to get private money out of politics and to isolate their extreme elements in the republican party. and these are not all conservative thinking spirit these extremists, and many to be isolated. >> victor menotti, "faces behind

a global crisis: us carbon billionaires and the un climate deadlock" is his report. i will be speaking in oslo, norway on saturday. we will be broadcasting from just outside the nobel peace prize ceremony on monday. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. email your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693, new york, ny 10013.

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with a nobel laureate and notable african author and poet, wole soyinka, the first african- american to win the nobel prize for literature, out with a new peace, "of africa." it is amounting to a manifesto of africa can navigate its way through a successful 21st century. we are